Friday, March 12, 2010

Hockey Tournament!

The Xcel Center sits 18,000 people. This week it's full for every session with hockey fans who file by Herbie Brooks signaling his Miracle on Ice, to watch the Minnesota State High School Tournament - a big deal out here on the frozen wasteland. I'm supposed to be cleaning house today, but they televise all the games, all day and all evening. I've passed on the evening sessions, but I'm half way through day three with one to go and I'm approaching zombie status. Maybe it is time to go clean the house.

Factoids from Wikipedia, only slightly obsolete. The numbers are a little higher now:

In Minnesota there are 156 high school hockey teams with over 6,500 participants. Attendance has been strong throughout the years with 22 tournaments eclipsing the 100,000+ barrier and in 2004 a record setting total of 120,114 (both classes). In the 2006 State Tournament, the average attendance per game in the championship brackets was 18,000 people. The Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament is currently the largest state sports tournament in the United States in terms of viewing and attendance, beating both the Texas and Florida's State High School Football Tournament and the Indiana State High School Basketball Tournament.
Jim, It's just like soccer, only faster and they do it on ice!

2 comments:

Hey, thanks for sharing that. Living in Winnipeg, I can certainly appreciate the popularity of the Good'll Hockey Game!I've been enjoying your blog for a while, and can relate as an avid biker and because my grandma grew up on a homestead in Blackduck back in the early 1900's. Norwegian, or don't ya know. My dad grew up in Mpls, and I have a fondness for that state having spent a lot of summers up that way while growing up in Illinois.